Wartime experience of visual impressions: K. A. Korovin and the problem of camouflaging positions at the front during World War I

During World War I the development of new methods for camouflaging the troops demanded the involvement of not only military professionals but also of the artists. Thus, a famous artist and Academician of Painting, Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin (1861–1939), cooperated with the paint-disguise and camouflage service established on the South-West Front on the initiative of brothers A. N. and N. N. Suchkov. The documents deposited at the Russian State Military Historical Archives reflect Korovinʼs interest in the problems of military camouflage, his trips to the front and his inventions. In the documents published here (the letters to the Suchkov brothers; a memorandum and an explanatory report to the chief of engineers of the armies of the South-West Front; instructions for the so-called “color finder” for determining the color of paint after drying) the artist outlined the problems of camouflage at the front, gave advice on the best ways of concealing positions (camouflaging trenches by paint spraying, setting up observation points that merge with the terrain, the use of camouflage nets). Korovin was aware of the innovations in camouflage in the armies of Russiaʼs allies, and urged to adopt the best of what they had. According to Korovin, the leadership of camouflage teams should be entrusted to competent officers familiar with the rules and specifics of perception of color combinations. The documents suggest that Korovin was one of the pioneers in the military science of camouflage in Russia.